Style Scout: Main Squeeze

A stroll along Minneapolis’s revamped riverfront helps Cy rekindle his love affair with the city.

"The moment I fell in love with Minneapolis again was in front of Pracna on Main, looking at the city at dusk," Style Scout Cy Winship says.

Image credit: Photo by kla4067 via Creative Commons.

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By: Cy Winship |   October 2011   |  From the print edition

Living in a city is a lot like marriage. At first it’s all delirious discovery; later on is when the irritating stuff starts to creep in. But, if you work at it, you hang on to the love and stay together. If not, you move on. If you are really, really lucky, one day out of the blue you fall in love all over again. Maybe your spouse starts working out and looks hot to you again—or maybe they just shift attitudes and make your heart flutter unexpectedly. Maybe you just open your eyes and heart and see the great stuff that’s been there all along.

I am speaking from experience—both in my marriage (he started working out and being more present; I woke up) and with Minneapolis. I moved here in the ’80s from New York via Denver and loved the place immediately. Still young and foolish at the time, I ravished the city as much as possible. As I settled down, I saw its shortcomings more and more. Truthfully, I hated the “Minne-apple” nickname from the start. Even when everyone realized how dumb the phrase was, we still tried to prove how hip we were.

The years went by and I accepted disappointment. Oh, a cool building went up now and again but, design-wise, I have always shaken my head in frustration: “What on earth is wrong with this place? Does no one realize there is a river here?” The only visible attempts to lure people riverside in the ’80s were Riverplace and St. Anthony Main—and we all know what a bust those were at the time.

So here’s the irony: The moment I fell in love with Minneapolis again was in front of Pracna on Main, looking at the city at dusk. After dining at nearby Brasa last summer (talk about melding cool design with insanely wonderful food), on a whim my husband and I decided to check out Wilde Roast Café’s new riverside digs. Negotiating the hipsters and sub-hipsters pouring in and out of Nye’s Polonaise Room, we wandered past the once-loathed cinema (could the seats at St. Anthony Main squeak any louder?) toward Wilde Roast.

And wow. I repeat: wow. What the hell happened down there? Even though we didn’t make it past the restaurant’s gelato bar, I couldn’t help but stare at the enormous peacock art on the columns and the bliss-filled faces at tables outside. (Yes, outside! Along the river!) With an oh-so-trendy salted caramel gelato in hand, little did I know an epiphany was near.

Wandering past Tuggs and the recently revamped Aster Café (is that really live music?), we arrived at Pracna. I stopped and John did, too. Our first date was there. Is it really this lively? We tried for years to celebrate anniversaries here, but it was just too empty and sad. Now, there are packed tables spilling onto the cobblestones outside. We continued to the river, where the view of Minneapolis from the rushing falls above the Stone Arch Bridge is still nothing short of magical.

Mouth agape and lump in throat, I just looked. Finally—a city on the river! This is what I wanted to show people; this is the town I think I always knew was there. Jean Nouvel’s Guthrie was stunning from this vantage point; the towers of scrolling words and lights broke my heart. The lit Mill City Museum and the North Star Blankets sign felt both historic and profound. But it was turning to the 3rd and Hennepin Avenue bridges that made me feel the simple, unadorned soul of this place.

Sure, I’m supposed to write about design—but that has got to mean more than where to shop. This was the ultimate design moment: this Midwestern city. The grace of those bridges, the water crashing past us and the carp nibbling along the banks nearly made me cry. I realized: We don’t need to be New York. We need to be us—simple, honest, a bit dorky. We need to let this place fill our hearts, and to fall in love all over again. Just go down there and grab a coffee if it’s cold and a gelato if it’s warm. Look at your home and feel some love.